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Donna Kennedy-Glans: The B.C. law that can stop Carney's nation-building projects

The consequences of a law giving First Nations veto power will reach far beyond B.C.

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In British Columbia, the NDP government led by Premier David Eby is paralyzed by its own policies. Unable to reverse its decision to embed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into provincial law, the province has effectively handed First Nations a veto over development on any claimed territory.

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“You have a First Nations advocacy organization co-governing a province,” says retired Aboriginal law expert Geoffrey Moyse. “We saw it pretty clearly yesterday when the First Nations Leadership Council told Eby what was going to happen. They told him he couldn’t legislate, couldn’t change legislation, without their consent.”

Donna Kennedy-Glans: The B.C. law that can stop Carney's nation-building projects Back to video

Meanwhile, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon delivered the keynote address this week at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, celebrating the 20th anniversary of UNDRIP. At the same forum, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak sharply criticized the B.C. NDP government for trying to amend or suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), calling the moves “regressive” and “shameful” and urging the UN to condemn them. On the same day, Amnesty International accused Canada of backsliding on Indigenous rights, claiming new laws to fast-track nation-building projects threaten self-determination.

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